The Hertzsprung - Russell Diagram Danish astronomer Ejnar Hertzsprung, and American astronomer Henry Noris Russell, independently plotted the luminosity of different stars against their temperature...
Determining distance using standard candles Standard Candles A standard candle is defined as: An astronomical object which has a known luminosity due to a characteristic quality possessed by that c...
Determining Distance using Parallax The principle of parallax is based on how the position of an object appears to change as the position of the observer changes For example, when observing the sca...
Inverse Square Law of Flux The moment the light leaves the surface of the star, it begins to spread out uniformly through a spherical shell Light sources which are further away appear fainter becau...
Wien's Law Wien’s displacement law relates the observed wavelength of light from an object to its surface temperature, it states: The black body radiation curve for different temperatures peaks at ...
Stefan-Boltzmann Law An objects luminosity depends on two factors: Its surface temperature Its surface area The relationship between these is known as the Stefan-Boltzmann Law, which states:...
Black Body Radiation Black body radiation is the name given to the thermal radiation emitted by all bodies (objects) All objects, no matter what temperature, emit black body radiation in the form o...
Average Molecular Kinetic Energy An important property of molecules in a gas is their average kinetic energy This can be deduced from the ideal gas equations relating pressure, volume, temperature ...
Investigating Gas Pressure and Volume Boyle's Law relates pressure and volume at constant temperature This investigation is one valid example of how this required practical might be tackled, others...
